Hackintosh Windows Dual Boot ITX Build

[migueldias25]

Hi guys,

I was looking to build a dual boot ITX Hackintosh to be able to work with both OS X and some light gaming on the Windows side (D3, HotS, FM mostly). I'd like to know what you think about this 1000 USD build, is it viable, good to last at least 5 years with some upgrades and what would you change?

Thanks in advance.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cWsLCJ

 

[jmsellars1]

Macs only seem to use either Intel graphics or mobile versions of AMD graphics so I don't know whether any desktop GPU's will work in Mac OS. You'd probably have to switch to Intel graphics when going into Mac OS.

Looks good in general but if it was my build there are a few things I'd change:

- The i5-6500 is a very similar speed and cheaper, that looks like a good option

- I'm a big fan of the Raijintek Metis case, have a look and see what you think. It supports ~250mm GPU's if you use a SFX PSU. The GPU cooling isn't great but an efficient card like the GTX 970 with a big dual fan cooler should be fine.

- I'd get a better quality PSU, the Corsair CX series aren't great. I'd happily use them in a <$400-500 build but you could afford something much better.

- I wouldn't go for a 2GB/s+ M.2. drive personally, they are very prone to overheating and throttling unless they have dedicated cooling so you pay all the extra cash and don't get the extra speed.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($113.89 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($55.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 240GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M9T 2TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($93.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Case: RAIJINTEK Metis (Silver) Mini ITX Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Silverstone 500W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($19.45 @ Amazon)
Total: $1023.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-08 15:47 EDT-0400


In terms of airflow, in that case it is best laid out like this:

https://hardforum.com/proxy/CKbSwEeCjghOdBvRnlfpwJw48uii1InQSHVdSyNoX5Ptqj44%2FUHy3pYd9iNEXn6DLNiaFH8lazHBuUQeCOXMTBxZO4BjuQsnobVR0lWud%2F02V8hwbDw8DFQVsLb%2BeUWsEbbVv1us%2FoVBX214dnWR9xTBuhtTVyIug0Zm3TuNXtUzwTbxjBdXbj8O1qusCEU5XjvlQdtwcj7hrotjeAZYdUG3GcCcxJlnf6LmjJuZVw%3D%3D/image.png

I'd have the Noctua as a rear intake blowing onto the CPU cooler then the CPU fan pulling rather than pushing then the PSU exhausting. The SFX-L 500W I recommended is gold rated and has a 120mm fan so it should cope fine.


Again, your build looks fine. Just some opinions to throw out there.